She left her business at
once to come to him. "Why did I not know in time?" she cried.
"No one, dear lady, had any idea until late last night," he said, taking
both her hands in his for a long friendly sympathetic pressure.
"I might have known that if it had been possible you would have told
me," she said.
"You know," she added, "I don't believe it yet. I don't realize it. I go
about these formalities--"
"I think I can understand that."
"He was always, you know, not quite here.... It is as if he were a
little more not quite here.... I can't believe it is over...."
She asked a number of questions and took the doctor's advice upon
various details of the arrangements. "My daughter Helen comes home
to-morrow afternoon," she explained. "She is in Paris. But our son is
far, far away in the Punjab. I have sent him a telegram.... It is so
kind of you to come in to me."
Dr. Martineau went more than half way to meet Lady Hardy's disposition
to treat him as a friend of the family. He had conceived a curious, half
maternal affection for Sir Richmond that had survived even the trying
incident of the Salisbury parting and revived very rapidly during the
last few weeks. This affection extended itself now to Lady Hardy. Hers
was a type that had always appealed to him.
Pages:
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276